forum From Dark to Light, From Madness to Sanity (1-1, Closed, Mature)

Started January 08, 2023 by @Serpentess health_and_safety language

tune

"You wish," the mind fairy retorted. She swallowed heavily and narrowed her eyes. "And what exactly are you?"

Farah gritted her teeth and pressed her lips tightly together to avoid making any more pained noises. Clearly, every reaction she gave was providing him with the fuel he needed to keep going. Even as his claws connected with her face, slashing cuts across her cheek, Farah remained silent. Her breathing, however, faltered, and her eyes watered from the immense pain.

Despite this, she again made the light grow brighter. Even if it hurt Phalakros, she needed to get this vile creature off of her. The aftermath… she could deal with that later.

She refused to give in to the evil now surging through her veins, even as it began to seize her mind. Farah refused to let it win, so she fought against it as furiously as she could

His coo in her mind disrupted her thoughts and made Farah shudder. She kept herself from thinking of the name of the fairy she'd summoned. But hopefully, she would get here soon. And bring others, if Farah was lucky.

She will not be another of your victims, Farah stated, the tar on her lips keeping her from speaking. It was like her mouth was stuck closed. Shit. She will be your downfall.

He snorted in amusement, then laughed at her question.

“I am unique,”he answered, both answering and avoiding her question.

He frowned in annoyance when Farah forced herself to stay quiet. Sure her breathing was ragged and tears were streaming from her eyes, but it wasn’t as satisfying. The Fae bitch was trying to be strong. He would make sure to break her resolve quickly then.

The Light brightened again and he shrieked in pain, shrinking away from the orbs as patches of his tar skin dried and fell off. Smoke even drifted up from his eyes. Fresh tar steadily replaced the wounds, but it still hurt like fucking hell.

“You little Light-sucking, Fae bitch! How about I skin you?”he hissed.

He lifted his free hand again, scanning Farah’s body for a moment. He then grabbed one of her hands, the tar changing his claws into strange scrapers, and he started to skin one of her fingers.

Without even realizing it, his grip on her mind started to falter. It didn’t recede, but it definitely stopped moving. However, the tendrils in her body continued to grow, if a bit more slowly now, latching onto her organs like some kind of evil spiderweb.

He smiled when she shuddered, but it was more cruel and less amused. Though, it quickly fell as he became annoyed again. He wanted a name! A name to use against this ‘savior’ of Farah’s!

I doubt that, he hissed back. He then eyed the tar covering her mouth, pleased by it. He hadn’t even done that intentionally, but it happened. It was actually quite hilarious.

Farah's eyes narrowed. Of course, he wouldn't answer her question. Not in a direct way at least. But at least she'd somewhat stalled for time.

This time as the light affected him, Farah noticed how it did. It dried the tar that coated Phalakros's darkened form. It was replaced within a few seconds, but it gave Farah more ideas. But before she could use any of them, he had taken her hand in a strong grip and began to skin her finger. New waves of pain burst through Farah, and she summoned all her strength to wrench her arm out of his grip.

And while the creature might not have noticed his mental attack stopping, Farah certainly did. She immediately strengthened her mental defenses so he couldn't push through them any further. Years of practicing were coming in handy at the moment.

Farah's eyes met his sharply, and she managed to split the tar seal over her lips to say, "I don't." Then, she called to her magic again, this time amplifying the light while adding heat to it. Whatever would work to get him away from her. That way, his claws would be useless, and the fairy would have easier access to channel her magic.

He gave a gurgling growl as she tried to get her arm away, then slammed her hand hard into the ground. A hiss came from him, and he moved his face close to hers.

“I am stronger than you. For all your power, you are still weak,”he snarled.

When he noticed her strengthening mental defenses, another hiss forced its way from his throat. He tried to break through them, and nearly did, but he hadn’t fed enough. Her defenses were just a bit stronger than he could handle, and she was turning out to be a poor meal. Time to end the feast then.

He opened his mouth to show off several new fangs, but he paused when she broke the tar covering her lips. Her words, her audible words, threw him off momentarily. Long enough for Farah to increase her Light. The heat didn’t really affect him, nor did it need to, because the Light was already burning him.

A deafening howl escaped him, an eerie sound that seemed a mixture of many screams in one, as his tar skin boiled and dried. Smoke billowed from his eyes.

He snapped his parasitic claw off, so that the tendrils remained intact in Farah as he burned. Then, he raised both hands and slammed them down hard into her collarbone, snapping it like a twig.

Afterward, he vanished in a cloud of black smoke. He could only teleport a few feet away with his lack of concentration, but it was better than being directly beneath the scorching Light.

He stumbled to his feet and quickly walked away, seeking a dark place to heal. The ruins ahead seemed fitting.

Farah stifled a cry of pain as he slammed her hand ruthlessly against the ground. She wouldn't be surprised at all if he'd broken something. With the throbbing her hand now felt, she was almost positive that he had.

But still, she stared him down fearlessly as he came closer. Her lively brown eyes met his empty black ones without flinching. How many times had something like those words been said to her? And she was still here, wasn't she?

You're wrong, she replied sharply. It's you who are weak.

Farah's expression winced slightly as he tried to take down her mental defenses, but his efforts were in vain. The mind fairy was simply too prepared. She'd been practicing mental defenses with her mother right after she'd discovered her magic and hadn't stopped.

Though terror burst through her at the sight of his fangs, but he completely paused and gave the fairy the break she needed to execute her plan. She was no sadist herself, but she couldn't help but feel glad as he screamed and his skin reacted awfully to her light magic. A taste of his own medicine.

But just like that, he broke off his wicked claws so they stayed buried in her body. And before Farah could so much as scream, his fists slammed down on her collarbone. His strength snapped it, and the mind fairy immediately fell unconscious. She'd been through too much pain and couldn't take it anymore.

–

A black SUV came speeding up the hill towards the remnants of Aster Dell. The driver was a younger fairy, seventeen by the looks of it, with white skin, ginger hair, and blue eyes. In the passenger seat, a darker-skinned girl with black hair and black eyes was bracing herself against the dashboard. In the back seats, four other girls were gripping their seatbelts and the door handles for dear life.

"Bloom, you're going too fast," the passenger urged.

The redhead ignored her. "I know what I saw," Bloom said shortly. "She's in trouble. Worse than anything else. We have to get there as soon as we–"

Immediately, she trailed off and screeched the car to a halt. After recovering from the speedy stop, the six girls piled out of the car. They all stopped, shocked and horrified by what they saw. The body of Farah Dowling, looking to be dead, broken, bloody, and infected with something vile.

Bloom was the first one to move, stepping close and kneeling beside Farah. Her eyes filled with tears, and she took Farah's limp hand in hers. "Miss Dowling?" she asked quietly.

He chuckled at her pain. He could tell something was broken, but he didn’t bother to inspect her hand enough to see what exactly had broken.

His chuckle was shortlived though at her fearless gaze. Damn it, she was stubborn! He then hissed at her reply, and became even more determined to prove her wrong.

He barely noticed when Farah passed out. It would’ve been a good opportunity for him to feed more, but he was in agony and couldn’t focus. He continued walking, but didn’t go far until he collapsed to his knees. Then, a strange growling sound approached fast, then screeched to a stop. What the fuck?

He was just out of sight of the thing. His wounds were extensive and his healing was getting slower. He was fading. No! No, he was fading! He was losing control! He needed to feed to regain his hold on the body he inhabited!

In desperation, he crawled to his feet and made his way toward the creature he’d heard. He quickly realized that it wasn’t a creature, but a machine, a carrier of more food. Oh, joy!

He let loose another eerie howl at the six morsels, then waited for them to come to him. As he stood there, bits of tar dripped off of him, and didn’t regrow.

The passenger, a water fairy named Aisha, knelt slowly beside Bloom. While putting a hand on her friend's back, she looked up at another member of the little group. This girl, Musa, had her black hair pulled up in two space buns, and her own dark brown eyes were beginning to water with tears. Behind her, a blonde girl, Stella, was trying to keep a strong front. But her eyes betrayed her sorrow too.

"Is she…?" Aisha asked quietly.

Musa inhaled and immediately accessed her mind fairy powers, which turned her eyes purple. The other girls waited with bated breath as Musa used her magic to try and pierce Miss Dowling's mind. A shaky sigh of relief escaped her. "No," she answered finally, and five sighs of relief came in unison. "She's still alive. But she's hurt. Badly. And if we can't get her help in time, then…"

Musa didn't finish her sentence. She didn't need to. The girls all understood the gravity of the situation.

Aisha, easily filling the role of the group's 'leader,' turned to another girl with light brown hair that was just below her shoulders and green eyes. "Terra, where's your dad right now?"

Terra shifted from foot to foot, clearly not liking the idea of Miss Dowling being so wounded. "He's at Alfea. It'll be too close, even if we did get there in time. Maybe we could make a healing salve here? Come up with something?" She turned to the fairy standing beside her as she spoke.

This fairy, Flora, was Terra's second cousin and had curly brownish hair with brown eyes. She took a deep breath and ran her eyes over the worst of Farah's injuries. "Maybe. We could definitely try. Zanbaq might have some kind of counter-effect from whatever it was that's infecting her–"

Before Flora could continue, a howl echoed from over closer to the valley. Bloom slowly rose to her feet, Aisha following her lead now. Unlike the others, Bloom had visited Aster Dell before. She knew what lay in the valley, otherwise protected by a veil Queen Luna had placed. The ruins of the former civilization.

Bloom's eyes narrowed, her inner flame burning with rage. Whoever had done this to Farah, whoever had hurt the former headmistress of Alfea so brutally… they would pay by facing Bloom's wrath. The fire fairy's eyes blazed orange as her magic leaped at her fingertips. She stormed toward the sound of the howl, the other fairies flanking her.

He watched them inspecting Farah a moment before he howled. Then, an evil grin grew as he caught the attention of the group. The current leader, the fire mage, seemed so confident. Sure, Fire did have its affects, but they were minimal. He just needed to avoid Light, and feed on their fear.

Unfortunately, none of them really seemed afraid. That didn’t bode well, particularly since he was fading. He wasn’t healing fast enough to keep control of the body for much longer.

So, just out of spite, he spat a line of acid at the leader of the group. Then, he charged as well, seeking the weakest one to target first.

~~

Meanwhile, the parasitic tendrils in Farah continued to grow. It covered many of her organs about halfway now, seeking any purchase it could find. So far, a couple organs seemed promising for full infestation.

However, it didn’t know which to choose, because the creature within Phalakros hadn’t been part of the Hive in millennia. But, it could make a new Hive. That meant it didn’t need to choose. It could infest all viable organs. Farah would make a good nest, a good Mother.

Bloom's eyes went wide as the acid shot at her. She ducked away from it and turned to Flora off of her right shoulder. "You and Musa stay back with Miss Dowling. Aisha, Stella, Terra, and I can handle this."

Flora pursed her lips slightly, but she nodded and went back to guard Farah with the young mind fairy in their group. Then, making sure they were far enough out of range from more attacks, Bloom quietly explained her plan to the other three fairies.

"I'll make a line of fire right at him, then Aisha, you hit it with water to make it steam up. Stella, you blind him, and Terra, can you grow some vines to hold him down?"

Terra nodded determinedly. "Will do."

With that, Bloom turned back to the creature that was before them. Obviously, this foul thing was the reason Miss Dowling was wounded, potentially fatally. Her eyes narrowed, and she called to channel her magic. Just as she'd planned, a streak of fire began at her feet and raced toward the creature. It spread toward him, spurred on by the rage in Bloom's mind.

Once it was close enough, Aisha drew moisture from the air and extinguished the fire in a burst. A small cloud of fog surrounded the area where the creature stood. Stella immediately circled the fog with intense orbs of light to blind him, and Terra prepared to make her vines.

–

Back with Farah, Musa monitored her mental state. "She's… so broken," she informed Flora quietly. "There's something not right."

"No shit," Flora replied. She reached into her pocket and drew out a lucky vial of Zanbaq. She parted Farah's tar-framed mouth and brought the lip of the bottle to it. "Drink up, headmistress," she murmured. The unguent was only known to be used against Burned Ones – either knocking the beasts out or temporarily treating the venom released from a scratch. Hopefully, it would work against whatever was slowly consuming Farah's body.

He continued to charge as the girls plotted, overhearing them with his keen hearing. His eyes were set on the one who would blind him.

Fire came toward him, but he ignored it, despite the risks. Though, he burst into laughter when the fire was extinguished and he was covered in steam. That laugh turned into a scream as orbs of Light appeared.

He stumbled to his knees, passing through the orbs. They seemed to rip out all of his innards in one quick stroke, even though it didn’t even break skin. Stubbornly, despite the agony, his quickly diminishing form, and his smoking eyes, he crawled forward. He only made it a couple feet before he crumpled onto his side, convulsing and drooling tar.

What remained of the tar slid off his body and faded away. A gurgling gasp came from him as a final cry of anger, then black ichor oozed out of his eyes until Phalakros’ green orbs emerged. Those eyes quickly closed though.

Then, Phalakros just lay there, his scales bleached, his skin sickly pale, and his breathing shallow, in a coma-like state. All of the wounds that had been inflicted upon the Alter-Ego only appeared as light discolorations and minor bruises.

Meanwhile, the grip the Alter-Ego had on Farah’s mind dissipated. The tendrils in her body decayed until only three organs remained infested. Her heart, her liver, and her womb. They were only covering the outside of the organs, but they still attempted to break through to the coveted innards of the organs they were lucky enough to grasp. The progress, though, was severely slowed due to the banishment of their master, the Alter-Ego.

The tendrils immediately noticed the introduction of the Zanbaq, and tightened their hold on Farah’s organs. However, it still affected them, and they were reduced by half. They still held the three organs, but now they were only small patches connected to each other by their main branches.

(Yeah, sorry 😅 Added that after I posted it lmao)

Bloom kept the creature in the corner of her eye, making sure to track how close he got to them. All the girls were taken aback by his ignorance of the fire, most of all Bloom. For a moment, she wondered if this could be a Burned One, or some freakish, adapted version of them. But he laughed at the steam that surrounded him. Burned Ones didn't laugh.

Stella's eyes narrowed as he screamed. It was because of her light. Obviously, the fire and water had done nothing, so she quickly realized her strength in the situation.

"Cover your eyes!" she commanded the other Winx girls, and after they had, the princess amplified her magic to a nearly blinding level. Only Stella could see through the whiteness as the creature stumbled and crawled and convulsed on the ground. Once Stella was sure he was taken care of, she dimmed the light bit by bit until it was gone.

The Winx girls uncovered their eyes and took in the body laying before them. This wasn't the tar-covered creature they'd just seen. This was… something else entirely. But he looked less intimidating and monstrous than the other creature, so Bloom sighed with relief. She turned back to look at Musa and Flora, nursing Farah's broken form.

"Stella, you stay here," Bloom murmured. "Just in case he wakes up."

Stella's eyes narrowed. "Why me?"

Terra cut in before Bloom could answer. "Because it was your magic that did away with him the first time, wasn't it?"

Stella pursed her lips but said nothing more. With that, the three other girls hurried back over to Miss Dowling. Alone with the bleached-looking body in front of her, Stella knelt beside him and studied his body. She noted the injuries, but it was nothing too severe. The blackness that had oozed out of his body still surrounded him, and Stella wrinkled her nose at the sight of it.

Bloom was the first to crouch beside Miss Dowling again. "Is she alright?" she asked immediately, looking between Musa and Flora.

Musa arched an eyebrow. "No. But she's better. I'd say her collarbone and hand are certainly broken, and she's got a lot of open wounds to heal from, not to mention a puncture in her stomach. But once you killed whatever that thing was, whatever infection this is almost disappeared."

"Almost?" Bloom asked sharply.

Flora inhaled swiftly. "The Zanbaq helped it," she said simply, indicating the fact that, from what the girls could see, there was no more blackness across Farah's skin. "But we still don't know if there will be any lasting effects."

Suddenly, Farah gasped to consciousness again. She opened her eyes to find that the blazing pain was slightly lessened. Her mind was safe again – she knew that at once. Though she recognized her collarbone and hand hadn't healed along with what seemed to be the rest of her. The scratches along her skin were still open, and a circle of faces surrounded her vision. She immediately recognized them all, and a soft smile appeared on her lips.

"Bloom," she murmured softly. "I knew you'd come."

Bloom's eyes teared up immediately. "Miss Dowling, I'm so sorry. I-" A simple look from Farah cut her off before she could continue. "We got here as fast as we could. What happened?"

"It's a lot to explain," Farah replied simply. "But first, did you manage to fend off that being?"

Aisha nodded. "Yes. Stella's with its body now."

Immediate alarm flashed through Farah's eyes. "Did you kill him?"

The girls exchanged confused frowns. "Um, we're not sure," Terra answered.

(Lmao! You’re fine)

---

Another howl escaped him as the Light grew brighter, speeding the process of his banishment. Then, he was gone. A few moments after Stella kneeled beside him, the remaining tar and ichor rapidly decayed into ash then faded, leaving no trace of the Alter-Ego anywhere around Phalakros.

Phalakros didn’t wake, nor did his condition change at all. However, his mind was quite active, as nightmarish dreams haunted him. They were a mixture of memories from the Alter-Ego’s attack on Farah and images of the creature’s homeland, the Tar Plane. Great hordes of demonic tar creatures surrounded a massive statue, praying to it in a language that Phalakros shouldn’t know but did. He was one of them, praying to the statue, while also just being a terror-stricken spectator among the masses.

Stella's eyes widened as the black substances she couldn't name broke down before her and faded away. Hesitantly, she reached toward the man and poked his shoulder in a simple attempt to wake him.

Farah's eyes instantly met Musa's. "Go over to him," she instructed. "Wake him if you can."

"But he-" Musa began. She too was silenced by a look from Farah. All of the girls obviously respected her a great deal. "Alright Miss Dowling," she conceded. She backed away from the group and headed over to Stella. Without being asked, Aisha followed behind her.

Once they were close enough to be heard, Stella turned around. "Is she awake?" she asked quickly. Aisha nodded, and the light fairy hurried back to Farah's side.

Musa swallowed, and Aisha put a hand on her friend's shoulder.

"Relax," the water fairy encouraged.

Musa nodded, and her eyes turned purple to enter his mind. Gently, and trying not to read his thoughts, she inserted more energy into his body. But suddenly, she got a glimpse of the creature attacking Farah. She gasped and staggered into Aisha, who reacted immediately to support her.

"You're alright," she stated. "I've got you. Can you wake him up?"

Musa shakily inhaled and nodded. "Yes," she answered. "I think I can." With that, she expelled a bit more energy into him, hoping that would do the trick.

Phalakros flinched at the poke, but didn’t stir. His scales were cool to the touch, when they should’ve been warm.

His dreams continued, until another presence invaded his mind. He could feel it, and so could the hordes. As one, the variety of beasts and creatures turned to glare with their eye-less faces. He screamed as the hordes rushed toward him, swallowing him in their merciless grasps, then he burst awake.

The scream he’d had in his dream continued in reality as Phalakros woke. Hurriedly, he crawled away, seeking escape from the hordes, the beasts, everything.

Though, he didn’t realize how weak he was until he collapsed a few feet away, wheezing. Phalakros curled into a tight fetal position, covering his blurred eyes as his entire body visibly shook.

“Get them off me! Get them off me! Get them off me!”he whimpered over and over again.

Musa felt his terror as it shot through her own mind. She began to hyperventilate and leaned heavily on Aisha, who supported her without questioning it.

"Musa?" she asked worriedly.

The mind fairy was about to respond when the man in front of them suddenly came back to consciousness. Musa withdrew from his mind and trembled for another moment before regaining herself. Both girls watched the man scramble away from them and whimper from fear.

"What did you see in there?" Aisha asked quietly.

"You wouldn't want to know," Musa replied, slowly walking toward him. She spoke calmly and loud enough that he could hear her as she approached. "They aren't here. It's only been a dream. Miss Dowling asked me to wake you."

Phalakros jerked away from the woman as she approached. His vision was still blurred, so he couldn’t discern her features that well, which scared him more. He also didn’t believe one word she said, particularly one part.

“It… It… is not a dream. It… It is real. All of it…”he whimpered.

He wasn’t lying, nor was he uncertain about it. He knew the hordes were real. He’d seen them both indirectly and directly, in a variety of ways. After all, the parasite that had originally possessed him was from those hordes, and had worshipped that statue just like all the others. It had showed him, had promised to make Phalakros join it, until Lucitius and Kyliin ripped it out of him.

The name she’d said finally registered in Phalakros’ mind and he looked away, toward the cliff. Farah!

“No, no, no! Farah! What have I done to you?”he burst.

Phalakros scrambled to sit up, and tried to stand, but his legs couldn’t hold him. So, he instead shuffled on all fours, rushing to Farah’s side as quickly as he could. He was wheezing loudly and he could only see colors and very vague shapes now, but he knew Farah’s scent. He also knew the smell of tar and ichor.

“What have I done? What have I done?”he squeaked, sitting down and holding his knees close to his chest, rocking himself as maroon tears, his regular tears, slid down his face.

(Is the claw the Alter Ego stabbed her with still in her or no?)

Musa stopped walking the second the man jerked away from her. Aisha reached out and caught her arm, ready to pull her friend back and out of the way from danger, but Musa was firm. She looked over her shoulder, her dark brown eyes meeting Aisha's blues. "He won't hurt me," she said simply. "I know he won't. He's too afraid."

As Musa turned back to him, the man cried out and looked back at where Bloom, Stella, Terra, and Flora were circled around their former headmistress, trying to aid her situation as best she could. It took both girls a moment to process that Farah was actually Miss Dowling's first name. They hardly thought about it.

Both fairies exchanged a look as the man frantically moved over the ground heading for Farah. They followed him, allowing him to 'lead' the way.

The four other fairies were worried exchanging words and trying to figure out how they could heal Miss Dowling as Farah heard Phalakros approaching. She silenced the girls and immediately tried to reach for the man, forgetting her broken hand. A hiss of pain escaped her before she could stop it, but she still tried to keep breathing naturally. "Phalakros," she whispered. "You've done nothing. I know it wasn't you. But we need to talk about what happened. Please."

Bloom glanced at Stella, and the princess vocalized what all the girls were basically thinking. "Miss Dowling, how can we heal you?"

Farah inhaled deeply, and her exhale was shaky at best. "You must do something only one of you has done before." Her eyes locked on Bloom as she spoke. "You must figure out how to access the transformation magic within yourselves."

(I believe so)

---

Phalakros whimpered at the sound of Farah’s pained hiss. He couldn’t see what was hurt, and his vision was slowly getting worse, but he knew it was bad.

“Farah… I do not remember any of it. ‘Tis vague images only,”he breathed.

Phalakros then listened to the situation. It pained him that he couldn’t help. He didn’t know healing magic, and he was too terrified and too weak to be of much use.

He pondered what transformation magic was, but his thoughts quickly drifted to his increasing blindness. He couldn’t see shapes now, and barely saw colors. Everything was turning dark, and his wheezing was getting louder. He knew what this was.

“Farah… I… I do not wish to return to the nightmares. I… hate going back. I… I…”he rambled, his voice slurring. Phalakros then passed out, flopping onto his side next to Farah.

He wasn’t wounded, he just needed to rest and recover from the ordeal of existing as the Alter-Ego.

(Kk. And it's just one, right?)

Farah heard him whimper and immediately worried. Still, she had to know what that creature was and how to relieve Phalakros of it. “Please try to remember. I know it is painful, but I must know the answers.

Her heartache for him grew as he slurred and rambled over his words. But before she could say anything else to him, he passed out again. “Musa,” Farah urged. “Use your magic. Calm him.”

Musa panicked a bit inside, and Farah felt it. “How?” the young mind fairy asked hesitantly.

“Calm yourself,” Farah said gently. “Then extend those feelings to him. If you can, try and give him reassurance.” Musa struggled for a moment before she managed to do just what Farah asked. Her eyes glowed purple as she called to her magic for aid. Once she was calm, Musa used her abilities to calm Phalakros as well, even if he was unconscious. Then Farah addressed Flora with her gaze. “I need you to pull this claw out of me,” she explained, much to Flora’s horror.

“I-I-I can’t!” Flora protested. “You could die from blood loss.”

Farah clenched her teeth and held her breath as new waves of pain rolled through her body. She was trying not to let on how much pain she was really in, but it was becoming just about too much now. “I’ll die much sooner from this infection if you don’t do as I say.”

Panic shot through Flora, but she steeled herself and nodded. Slowly, she gripped the large claw that had been embedded in Farah and eased it out. The headmistress closed her eyes and stifled a pained scream for as long as she could. When she eventually cried out in agony, the other fairies teared up and looked away almost immediately.

(Yeah, just the one)

---

“I… I cannot! It… it takes… takes time… I… I do not wish to remember…”he whined.

The nightmares returned immediately, sending him back into the hordes. This time, the creatures noticed him, instead of ignored him. The closest ones drew closer, inspecting him, scratching him, wondering what he was. He wasn’t a true Tar Creature, but he wasn’t a non-native. What was he? Would he fit with the rest, or would they have a new plaything?

Then, an invader came, a calming presence surrounding the strange one. That was not native. That was an enemy. The horde turned to attack him again, and he screamed. But, the horde didn’t touch him. They faded away and he quickly thought of something familiar.

Phalakros thought of his room in Lucitius’ underground sanctuary. The walls were made of carved amethyst, an attempt made by Lucitius to keep him calm. Though Phalakros didn’t know if it actually worked, the fact that Lucitius had done it was comforting. His stone bed was covered in fresh feathers, and all of his things, his books and doodles and keepsakes, were neat. He’d just finished cleaning.

Phalakros sat down in one of two nearby chairs and sighed in relief. Unknown to him, a dismembered, tar-covered skeletal hand crawled into the open archway serving as the room’s door and slowly made its way toward him.

~~

Meanwhile, in the waking world, a strange, eerie squeal came from the claw as Flora pulled it out. The parasitic tendrils inside Farah were still attached to it, and they pulled and scraped desperately at Farah’s innards in an attempt to stay.

The tendrils on her heart and womb came loose and came out with the claw. The ones on her liver held tighter, but came loose shortly afterward. However, a tiny piece, barely bigger than a little plant seed, remained on her liver. It was greatly weakened by the loss of the other tendrils, but it was just strong enough to imbed itself in the tissue of her liver, and to influence the surrounding tissue to take care of it. So, a tiny pocket formed around the ’seedling’, veins and protective tissue attaching to it. The seedling, being unable to do anything more, just waited. Its master, the Alter-Ego, would return eventually, and would give it the strength to truly grow.

The other tendrils, the three main branches with webbed patches at their ends, were enraged by being pulled out of their host, and they whirled around and latched onto Flora’s hands, trying to dig into her skin. The claw just kept squealing, as if it was the collective voice of the tendrils and their anger.

Farah winced and cried out as the tendrils latched in tighter to her organs. Her cries just about drowned out the squeals and shrieks of the claw as Flora slowly pulled it out of her body. The more the young earth fairy removed it, the more agony Farah experienced. She panted for breath, and just when Farah thought that she wouldn’t be able to take the pain anymore, the parasite released itself from her organs and came loose with the claw. A long moan of relief left Farah’s lips, and she closed her eyes for a moment.

She didn’t feel the small bit left behind on her liver as the collective pain of her injuries began to take its toll. Farah was weakening by the second, and just before she could thank Flora, the mind fairy fell unconscious again.

Flora, however, was more occupied with the wicked black claw in her hands. The tendrils reached for her and took hold of her skin. Flora screamed, and Terra immediately reached forward to yank the claw from her cousin’s grip. As quickly as she could so that it wouldn’t latch onto her either, Terra dropped it into the dirt and yelled, “Bloom!”

The fire fairy’s eyes lit up orange, and a stream of flames shot from her palm to incinerate the claw.

—

Musa, however, was still enveloped in Phalakros’s subconscious mind. She experienced the same things he was and felt his reactions as her own. The amethyst room was alluring to her, but she was seeing them through Phalakros’s eyes. As much as she wanted to reach out and touch the smooth purple walls, she couldn’t.

(I apologize for how angsty this rp is getting)

---

The claw continued to squeal angrily as it grabbed onto Flora. Then, Terra grabbed it, making it squeal louder. It tore away skin from Flora’s hands, absorbing the pieces, eating them, then it tried to attack Terra. But, she dropped it before it could grab onto her. Then, it was burning.

It flinched and coiled, shriveling as small pieces dried up and fell off. However, the fire didn’t kill it, and it used its tendrils to crawl toward Bloom, rushing at her with horrific speed. It would get back at her, then it would try to absorb her as it had failed to do with Farah.

~~

Phalakros relaxed in his chair, savoring the quiet, peaceful moment he was having. He didn’t know or understand what had happened in the horde, but right now, he didn’t care. He was just glad he was out of the horror.

That was, until he felt clawed skeletal fingers grab his ankle and launch him from his chair. Phalakros cried out in surprise and terror. The fingers grabbed him again and dragged him into the floor. Phalakros screamed, clawing at the floor in total desperation.

Nothing worked though. The floor became slick with tar and a dark hole opened up, the same hole the hand was dragging Phalakros into. He cried and screamed and begged. Then, he was slipping into the hole, slipping beneath the heavy blackness of the tar spilling out from the crater.

No. No! He remembered this hole. He remembered being pulled down in it. He remembered what was in it.

Phalakros tried to cry for help again, but all he did was swallow tar. In the same moment, several eels swirled around him. No! He shrieked and jerked, but all it did was encourage them, brought them closer, until they were nipping at him, biting, eating, burrowing. He tried to scream again, and an eel went down his throat. He lost consciousness soon after, which sent his already sleeping self into another coma-like state.

(No, it's fine! I'm actually kind of enjoying it, except I need Farah to get better ASAP like right now immediately)

Flora cried out and pulled her arms back against her chest. She gritted her teeth and hissed in pain from the claw ripping her skin away.

Bloom's eyes were blazing orange as she watched the disgusting claw shrivel beneath the heat of her flames. But suddenly, it was crawling over to her, at a blinding fast speed. Bloom's eyes widened, and she was about to shoot more flames at it until Stella called her off.

"Close your eyes!" the princess demanded.

Bloom cut her eyes over briefly. "What?!"

"Just do it!" Stella shot back. "All of you, now!" The others quickly obeyed, closing their eyes tightly. With a snap of her fingers, Stella surrounded the claw with orbs of light. Her eyes narrowed, honing in on the wicked creature and amplifying her light until she was sure the light would kill it. Her rage only added to her magic, fueling it, until even she had to wince from the brightness.

–

At the same time, Musa was reveling in the amethyst room. She suddenly blenched in terror as the hand gripped Phalakros's ankle and pulled him down into the floor. The same thing happened to Musa, sending her body into a fit of panic. She couldn't calm the man… she could barely calm herself! These dreams were twisted and dark and evil, the things of the worst nightmares imaginable. She couldn't do it. She would fail Farah yet again.

The tar surrounded Musa, and she tried to scream, but it poured down her throat and coated her mouth. She gasped and choked on it while scrambling for a way out of the hole. But it was a bottomless pit of darkness and despair. She lost herself to it. At the same moment Phalakros went into a deeper unconscious, Musa did as well. Her physical body lost all strength and collapsed onto the ground beside Farah.